Although Carrie Underwood was crowned the American Idol season 4 winner, she does have one big regret about her time on the singing competition show.

In a March 2026 interview with Billboard, Underwood was asked, “What is the one thing during your entire time on Idol that you would change?”

The singer said she wishes she had documented her experience better.

“I’m very angry with myself because when I was on the show, I wasn’t taking any pictures,” she responded. “I’m thinking, ‘Why? Why didn’t you do that? Why didn’t you save these things?'”

Underwood continued, “We had a girl come in that had a pair of jeans that I wore on the show, and she told me, ‘My grandpa bought these at a charity auction and I wore them on the show,’ and I asked, ‘Can I buy them back from you?’ Why did I let them go?”

“Why didn’t I keep more things and just document things a little better?” she added.

Ryan Seacrest, who has hosted American Idol since the beginning, also shared what he would love to change about his first season.

“I must have approached this show as if no human beings were watching it, when you look at what I decided to wear and how I looked for the first season,” he said. “It was a new show. Who knew if anybody was going to tune in?”

Seacrest continued, “And so sheer shirts and spiked blonde hair and oversized baggy suits and a terrified look on my face. I’d try and change that.”

He added, “I’d try to assume maybe somebody was watching it in the beginning.”

When asked if he thought he’d still be hosting the show 24 years later, Seacrest admitted, “No. We were trying to get a pickup for season two.”

“I remember saying, ‘Call me if they want to do this again, because I would love to do this again,'” he recalled.

This story was originally published by Parade on Mar 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.